O que você fez ontem?
Chapter Overview
Up to this point, you have spoken about the present and about the near future. This chapter opens Unit IV by giving you a new tool: the preterite, the verb form Portuguese uses to talk about completed actions in the past. You will learn the regular preterite endings for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs, along with several high-frequency irregular preterites you will need right away. By the end of the chapter, you will be able to narrate what you did yesterday, last weekend, or earlier today, and you will start noticing how já and ainda não help organize a story in time.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Form the regular preterite of -ar, -er, and -ir verbs.
- Use the irregular preterites of ir, ser, fazer, ter, and estar to narrate completed events.
- Ask and answer questions about what happened yesterday or last weekend.
- Sequence a short narration using primeiro, depois, and então.
- Use já and ainda não to say whether something has already happened.
- Read and write a short account of a completed day, preserving all diacritics.
Communication Scenario
A friend asks what you did yesterday. You need to answer with a short, connected account of your day: what you did in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. By the end of the chapter, you will be able to tell this story, understand someone else telling theirs, and write it down clearly.
- This chapter activates the regular preterite and a small set of high-frequency irregular preterites.
- Present-tense routine language from earlier chapters remains available for context and comparison, but the chapter's new productive target is completed past action.
- You may describe a real day or invent one.
Core Vocabulary
This chapter's vocabulary supports narrating a completed day: time markers for the recent past, and a small set of high-frequency verbs whose preterite forms you will practice throughout the chapter.
| Portuguese | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ontem | yesterday | — |
| ontem de manhã / à tarde / à noite | yesterday morning / afternoon / evening | — |
| anteontem | the day before yesterday | — |
| o fim de semana passado | last weekend | — |
| a semana passada | last week | — |
| já | already | pairs with completed action |
| ainda não | not yet | pairs with completed action |
| primeiro, depois, então, por fim | first, then/after, so/then, finally | recycled from Capítulo 12 |
| Portuguese | English | Type |
|---|---|---|
| trabalhar, estudar, ligar, chegar | to work, to study, to call, to arrive | regular -ar |
| comer, beber, aprender | to eat, to drink, to learn | regular -er |
| assistir, sair, decidir | to watch, to go out, to decide | regular -ir |
| ir, ser, fazer, ter, estar | to go, to be, to do/make, to have, to be | high-frequency irregular |
All entries preserve required diacritics, including á, é, and ê in conjugated forms introduced below.
Pronunciation Focus
In the regular preterite, stress falls on the ending, not on the verb stem. In the eu form of -ar verbs, this produces a closed final vowel written with an acute accent: trabalhei, estudei, cheguei. In the você/ele/ela form of -ar verbs, the stressed vowel is written with a circumflex: trabalhou has no accent mark, but forms like falámos do not apply in Brazilian Portuguese — Brazilian nós preterite forms for -ar verbs are identical in spelling to the present tense (trabalhamos) and are distinguished only by context and stress in speech.
Listen for the contrast between present trabalho (stress on the first syllable) and preterite trabalhei (stress on the final syllable). This stress shift is one of the clearest oral signals that a speaker is talking about the past.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns
The preterite narrates a specific action completed at a specific past time. Use it to answer the question "What happened?" rather than "What was going on?"
Regular Preterite Endings
| Subject | -ar (trabalhar) | -er (comer) | -ir (assistir) |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | trabalhei | comi | assisti |
| você / ele / ela | trabalhou | comeu | assistiu |
| nós | trabalhamos | comemos | assistimos |
| vocês / eles / elas | trabalharam | comeram | assistiram |
Verbs ending in -car, -gar, and -çar show a spelling change in the eu form to preserve the consonant sound: chegar → cheguei, ficar → fiquei, começar → comecei.
High-Frequency Irregular Preterites
| Subject | ir / ser | fazer | ter | estar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu | fui | fiz | tive | estive |
| você / ele / ela | foi | fez | teve | esteve |
| nós | fomos | fizemos | tivemos | estivemos |
| vocês / eles / elas | foram | fizeram | tiveram | estiveram |
ir and ser share identical preterite forms in Portuguese; context tells you which meaning is intended. Ela foi ao mercado ("she went to the market") uses the same form as A festa foi ótima ("the party was great").
Já and ainda não
- Eu já comi. I already ate. já + preterite = action already completed
- Ela ainda não chegou. She hasn't arrived yet. ainda não + preterite = action not yet completed
Prática guiada — Guided practice: Change each present-tense sentence into the preterite.
- Eu trabalho na loja. → Ontem, eu ______ na loja.
- Nós comemos em casa. → Ontem, nós ______ em casa.
- Ela vai ao mercado. → Ontem, ela ______ ao mercado.
- Eu tenho uma reunião. → Ontem, eu ______ uma reunião.
- Eles estão em casa. → Ontem, eles ______ em casa.
Model Dialogue
- List everything Rafael did yesterday, in order.
- What did Mariana do at work?
- Find one example of já in the dialogue and explain what it signals.
Guided Practice
Exercício A — Complete with the correct preterite form.
- Ontem, eu ______ (estudar) português por duas horas.
- Ela ______ (ir) ao mercado de manhã.
- Nós ______ (comer) em um restaurante novo.
- Eles ______ (ter) um dia difícil no trabalho.
- Você já ______ (fazer) o trabalho de casa?
Exercício B — Answer in complete sentences using the preterite.
- O que você fez ontem de manhã?
- Você já comeu hoje?
- Aonde você foi no fim de semana passado?
Exercício C — Sequence the story. Put the sentences in a logical order using primeiro, depois, and então.
- Eu jantei com minha família.
- Eu acordei às sete horas.
- Eu trabalhei o dia todo.
Listening Practice
If no audio recording is available, ask a partner, instructor, or text-to-speech tool to read the script below aloud, or read it aloud to yourself slowly.
- List the speaker's activities in the order they happened.
- Where did the speaker eat lunch, and with whom?
- What time-related detail tells you the speaker went to bed early?
Speaking Practice
Prática controlada — Controlled practice: three preterite sentences
Say aloud three things you did yesterday, using a different verb each time and at least one irregular preterite (ir, fazer, ter, or estar).
Tarefa comunicativa — Communicative task: interview a partner
With a partner, ask and answer O que você fez ontem? and at least two follow-up questions (Onde? Com quem? A que horas?). Report one interesting detail about your partner's day back to the class or to yourself.
Prática individual — Solo alternative
Record yourself narrating your day yesterday from morning to night, using at least five preterite verbs and two sequence connectors.
Reading Practice
O fim de semana de Lucas
No sábado, Lucas acordou tarde e tomou café da manhã com calma. De manhã, ele não fez muito; só descansou e leu um livro. À tarde, ele foi ao parque com dois amigos e eles jogaram futebol por uma hora. À noite, Lucas e os amigos comeram pizza e assistiram a um filme juntos. No domingo, Lucas teve um dia mais tranquilo: ele estudou português por trinta minutos, ligou para a família e depois foi dormir cedo, porque a semana de trabalho já ia começar na segunda-feira.
Notice acordou, tomou, fez, foi, jogaram, comeram, assistiram, teve, estudou, ligou, and foi — a mix of regular and irregular preterites narrating a full weekend.
Tarefa de leitura — Reading task:
- What did Lucas do on Saturday morning, afternoon, and evening?
- What did Lucas do on Sunday, and why did he go to bed early?
- Find three irregular preterite forms in the passage and give their infinitives.
Writing Workshop
Write a short narrative of six to eight sentences describing what you did yesterday, following the model of Lucas's weekend above.
- Plan your timeline. Decide what happened in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
- Draft the morning section. Use at least one regular preterite verb.
- Draft the afternoon section. Use at least one irregular preterite verb (ir, fazer, ter, or estar).
- Draft the evening section. Use já or ainda não at least once.
- Connect the sections using primeiro, depois, então, and por fim.
- Check diacritics and spelling throughout, including forms such as já, até, and é.
Lista de revisão — Editing checklist:
- The narrative uses at least one regular preterite verb correctly conjugated.
- The narrative uses at least one irregular preterite verb correctly conjugated.
- já or ainda não appears at least once with a clear meaning.
- The events are connected with sequence connectors.
- All diacritics are preserved.
- No unscheduled grammar, such as the imperfect, appears.
Culture and Communication
Asking O que você fez no fim de semana? is a common, friendly way to start a conversation on a Monday in many Brazilian workplaces and schools. It functions similarly to small talk about the weekend in many English-speaking contexts, and the level of detail shared usually depends on the closeness of the relationship.
In Brazilian Portuguese, the nós preterite form of regular -ar verbs looks identical to the present tense in writing (trabalhamos can mean either "we work" or "we worked"), and context or an added time expression usually resolves any ambiguity. European Portuguese written norms sometimes mark this distinction differently; this is a recognition note only, since the productive model for this course is Brazilian Portuguese.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Error: Pronouncing trabalhei with stress on the first syllable, as in the present-tense trabalho.
Correction: Stress the final syllable in the preterite eu form: trabalhei. The stress shift is part of what signals the past tense in speech.
Error: Saying Eu fazi or Eu tei by applying regular endings to irregular verbs.
Correction: These five verbs have irregular preterite stems that must be memorized: fui, fiz, tive, estive. Practice them as fixed forms before trying to build them from a rule.
Error: Listing several preterite actions in a row with no connecting words, producing a choppy narration.
Correction: Use primeiro, depois, então, and por fim to link events clearly: Primeiro, eu trabalhei. Depois, eu fui ao mercado.
Chapter Summary
O que você aprendeu — What you learned
This chapter introduced the regular preterite for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs, along with the irregular preterites of ir, ser, fazer, ter, and estar. You practiced narrating a completed day using time expressions, sequence connectors, and já/ainda não across listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Chapter Review
Parte A — Compreensão (Comprehension)
1. Return to O fim de semana de Lucas, and answer these short questions.
- What did Lucas do on Saturday afternoon?
- Why did Lucas go to bed early on Sunday?
Parte B — Escrita (Writing)
1. Conjugate estudar, comer, and ir in the preterite for eu and nós.
Parte C — Leitura (Reading)
1. Return to the Listening Task script, and list the speaker's activities in order.
Parte D — Fala (Speaking)
1. Tell a partner three things you did yesterday, using at least one irregular preterite verb.
Practical Performance Task
Chapter 16 Practical Check
O que você fez ontem? — Narrating a Completed Day
Complete the following connected tasks, in order, as one integrated performance.
- Read O fim de semana de Lucas. Answer the comprehension questions above before continuing.
- Narrate your own day. Use at least three regular preterite verbs and two irregular preterite verbs.
- Sequence the narration. Use at least two sequence connectors.
- Mark completion. Use já or ainda não at least once.
- Combine all steps into one spoken and written narrative, applying the editing checklist from the Writing Workshop.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Regular preterite | The learner conjugates -ar, -er, and -ir verbs correctly in the preterite. |
| Irregular preterite | The learner uses at least two of ir, ser, fazer, ter, and estar correctly. |
| Sequencing | The learner connects events clearly using sequence connectors. |
| Já / ainda não | The learner marks completion or non-completion appropriately. |
| Narrative coherence | The learner produces one organized account of a completed day. |
| Diacritics and spelling | The learner preserves diacritics throughout, including já, até, and stress-marked preterite forms. |
This chapter activates the preterite for the first time; only the systems introduced above and in Chapters 1–15 are assessed.
Answer Key
Grammar — Guided Practice
- Eu trabalhei na loja.
- Nós comemos em casa.
- Ela foi ao mercado.
- Eu tive uma reunião.
- Eles estiveram em casa.
Exercício A
- estudei
- foi
- comemos
- tiveram
- fez
Exercício C — Sample sequence
Primeiro, eu acordei às sete horas. Depois, eu trabalhei o dia todo. Então, eu jantei com minha família.
Listening Task — Comprehension
- The speaker woke up early and went to work; ate lunch with two colleagues near the office; went to the gym and exercised for forty minutes; studied a little and watched television; went to bed before midnight.
- The speaker ate lunch near the office with two colleagues.
- Eu já dormi antes da meia-noite shows the speaker went to bed early.
Reading Task
- Saturday morning: rested and read a book. Saturday afternoon: went to the park and played soccer with friends. Saturday evening: ate pizza and watched a movie. Sunday: studied Portuguese, called family, went to bed early because the work week was starting.
- Sample irregular forms: foi (ir), teve (ter), fez (fazer).
Chapter Review
- Lucas went to the park with friends and played soccer on Saturday afternoon; he went to bed early on Sunday because the work week was about to start.
- estudei / estudamos; comi / comemos; fui / fomos
Looking Ahead
O que você já sabe fazer — What you can do now
You can narrate a completed day using the regular preterite and a set of high-frequency irregular preterites, sequence events clearly, and mark whether something has already happened.